Bedrock (18 page)

Scott Hammons was pleased with the work he’d done and
knew God was pleased, too. He eyed Addison Greyer, naked and unconscious in the
room he’d set up for the occasion. He’d given her enough Ketamine to keep her
out for at least the next twelve hours or so. He walked over, checked her pulse,
and injected a little Rohypnol for good measure. When she finally awoke, she
would be dazed and confused, with little memory of how she’d gotten here.
Everything was going to be perfect.

It had to be perfect. He had put a lot of energy into seeing that
everything went according to plan. First, he’d rented this hellhole of a place:
a small old farmhouse, remotely located, just off a rural road. Out in the
middle of nowhere, it was the type of place where no one would hear screams or
bother him while he carried out God’s work. He’d visited various hardware
stores to buy the supplies he would need, mindful not to shop in just one
place, always careful not to raise suspicion. He concocted the plan to secure
an interview with Mrs. Greyer, even making up a fictitious name and address because
he was a smart man. And that’s what smart men did. That is why God spoke to
him. That is why God chose him in the first place.
The idiots didn’t even
bother to check him out.

Over the next forty-eight hours, he would get his revenge for all
of the ways William Hartman had wronged him: for taking away his business and
dismantling his life. First, he would beat and torture the love of Hartman’s
life. Because the Bible said:
“‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’”
And Hartman
shall have no peace.

Next, he would call that bastard, William Hartman, from a
disposable cell phone, of course. He was a smart man after all, no matter what
anyone said, especially evildoers like Hartman. He’d give that son of a bitch the
fictitious name and tell him that he was holding Mrs. Greyer captive. Hartman
would believe him because, by now, someone would’ve noticed that the stupid
bitch was missing. He would even use the disposable phone to text him a picture
of his whore, chained and beaten.

Then he would order Hartman to meet him, alone, of course.
Because he was a smart and capable man, he would watch and wait, stalking the asshole
until he was certain that he’d arrived alone. Because he was a genius, he would
then send him to a second location, following closely to make sure he was
really alone. At the third location, Scott would finally show himself, reveling
in the delight of Hartman’s bewilderment—his astonishment at the brilliant man
who’d just deceived him. Since he was doing God’s work, by removing the
evildoers from this world, he would instruct Hartman to handcuff himself, and
then he’d drug him just as he had his whore. The Bible said:
“He who commits
adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.”
And Hartman had
committed adultery. Because Scott knew he was an angel of the Lord and because
he was a genius, he understood that he had to carry out God’s work. He also
knew that Hartman would be forced to comply if he wanted to save the woman he
loved. After all, the Bible said,
“And ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.”
Scott knew the truth because God had told him
as much. And the truth was that William had to die.

Seventeen

“What do you mean she didn’t show?” Sondra asked
exasperated.

“Just what I said. I waited an hour. And she didn’t show.”
William replied matter of factly.

Sondra sighed. “All right. Let me figure out what’s going on.
I’ll call you back.”

Goddammit, Addison. She was going to kill that girl. She
should’ve known.
Sondra dialed Addie’s number. It went straight to voice
mail.
Big surprise.
Sondra dialed Addie’s home number. A girl, probably
the nanny, picked up. “She’s not home. May I ask who is calling?”

“This is her boss. I need to speak with her immediately. When she
gets in, make sure that she calls me right away. Do you understand?”

“Yes, well, actually, I was going to call the office. She’s
supposed to be here to take the kids. I had class two hours ago, and I missed
it because she didn’t show. It’s not like her, and I’m kind of worried.”

Sondra rubbed her temples.
Great,
this is exactly what she
needed. “Well, why are you telling me?”

“Because you’re her boss. I thought you might know where she
was.”

“If I knew where she was, I wouldn’t be calling, WOULD I?” Sondra
slammed the phone down.

God, she should’ve known Addison couldn’t handle this. Why’d she
have to go and tell her the truth?

Sondra thought for a moment, finally dialing Addie’s assistant
who explained that she hadn’t seen Addie but that she’d received a message from
her that she was lost en route to an interview and that when she tried to call
Addie back her phone just went to voice mail. Sondra wrote down the client’s
name and phone number.
Damn it. If she messed this up too . . .

She dialed the phone number. The number was disconnected.
Hmm.

Annoyed, Sondra figured Addie would come around sooner or later
and decided to let it go, until, a few hours later when her phone rang. It was the
nanny calling. “I’m worried about Mrs. Greyer. She was supposed to take the
boys to the beach this weekend. She asked me to have them packed, saying that
they were going to leave at seven when she got home. They’ve been waiting
impatiently for hours. It’s not like her to tell them something and then not
follow through. It’s especially not like her not to come home when she says.
I’m thinking about calling the police. What do you think?”

Sondra set up in bed. “No. Don’t do that. Let me make a few
calls; I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. I’ll find her. Are you ok there
with the children or shall I send someone else?

“They’re pretty upset, so I’ll stay with them.”

“All right, call me if she turns up at home.”

Sondra hung up the phone and dialed Addie’s assistant, who
answered on the first ring. “The client that Mrs. Greyer went to interview, get
me that address. In fact, send me all of the information you have.
Immediately.”

“Certainly, Ms. Sheehan. I’ll send it right over. Is everything
ok?”

“I sure hope so.”

Sondra hung up and called Liselle next, who confirmed what she
already knew—that Addie hadn’t ever shown up at Seven.

Her inbox chimed. Sondra opened the email containing the client’s
information. Simon Peter: 555-452-9111. The same number she’d called before.
Sondra dialed the number again. Still disconnected. She tried Addie’s cell. It
went straight to voice mail, again. Sondra typed the name and address into
Google, which turned up nothing.
Weird.

Sondra called Addie’s assistant back. “Did you run background
checks on Mr. Simon Peter?”

“No. I thought Mrs. Greyer had.”

Sondra slammed her fist down. “Goddammit. I need you to check the
system. See if anything has been run. NOW!”

The girl did as she was told and came back on the line a few
moments later. “There is no one in the system by that name. A check wasn’t run
on Simon Peter. Would you like me to check another name?”

“Fuck.” Sondra repeated as she swallowed hard and hung up the
phone.

Sondra was hesitant to call William Hartman, but what else could
she do? It was him or the police, and, until she knew for sure that something
bad happened, she preferred to leave the cops out of this.

Sondra needed help and William was one of her few friends. Since he
had unlimited resources at his disposal, in addition to the fact that he was in
love with the girl in question, she knew she had no choice but to involve him
in the matter, even if it meant extreme repercussions for herself. She threw a
few things in a bag and texted William that she needed to see him right away
and was on her way over.

William was waiting for her at the door, wearing plaid pajama
bottoms that were slung low on his hips and nothing else. Even after all this
time, seeing him this way still caused her breath to catch. She’d never seen a
man more beautiful than he was in that very moment.

William grinned wickedly. “So I take you’re here to do my
session? Why so late? And why
here
? What happened to Laelia, anyway?”
William suddenly paused looking out the window, a smile playing across his
lips. “Damn, I really,
really
liked that girl.”

Sondra froze. Seeing the look on his face, she lost every ounce
of courage she might’ve had and decided right then and there that explaining
everything was a bad idea. “She’s, uh, tied up.”

William laughed. “Nice pun. I’d like to tie her up.”

Sondra took a seat at the bar. “I need water. Do you have a
Perrier?

William walked over, opened the fridge, took out the bottle,
opened it, and slid it across the bar to Sondra.

“So what’s up?” William asked, nodding wearily.

Sondra gulped the water.
Here goes nothing.
“I’m here
about Addison Greyer. She’s missing.”

“What do you mean she’s missing? What the fuc—?”

Sondra cut him off. “Sit down, William.”

William stayed put.

“Listen, she went to interview a potential client this afternoon,
and no one has heard from her since. The nanny said she didn’t show up to get
the kids. And when I typed the client’s name into our database, nothing came
up. I Googled his name and address. It doesn’t exist.”

William’s expression changed from wary to stone cold. He picked
up his phone from the bar and began dialing numbers. “What time? How long has
she been missing?” he asked as he quickly analyzed the risk, knowing the
statistics.

“Six hours. Who are you calling?”

“Addison. I’m calling Addison!” William paced back and forth.
Come
on. Pick up.
Nothing. It went straight to voicemail. Next, he dialed Carl.
“Assemble the team. I need everyone in here ASAP.”

William kept firing questions. “How did this happen? Has anyone
notified the police? Her husband? Checked with the rest of her family?”

“No.” Sondra said, trying to remain calm for William’s sake.

“She wouldn’t just not come home to her children or ignore
Kelsey’s calls. Something bad has happened to her, Sondra. Why in the hell
didn’t you call me sooner? Or call the fucking police?”

“I wasn’t sure she was really missing. I mean . . . This isn’t
the first time my calls have gone unanswered.”

Thankfully, William’s security team came through the door at that
moment, taking the pressure off. William explained everything to them, and then
Carl interrogated Sondra, asking her the same questions multiple times, until
he seemed satisfied. She then wrote down all of the information she had on the
client and handed it over.

But there was something about the way Carl looked at her when he
she gave him the client’s name. There was something behind that look that
terrified her. All at once, the room was in motion; there were calls being made
and computers being set up. Not knowing what to do with herself, Sondra went to
Carl and tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting his conversation. “Do you
know someone by the name of Simon Peter?

Carl looked at Sondra, though his expression giving nothing away.
“Why do you ask?”

Sondra crossed her arms, feeling uneasy. “I just need to know.”

Carl nodded. “Simon Peter was one of the twelve apostles of
Jesus. The leader—he was known for bringing people to Jesus.”

Sondra didn’t follow. “Ok?”

Carl spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words. “The name this
person, this client, choose to give, gives us a glimpse into his mental state.”

Sondra tilted her head. “Couldn’t it just be a coincidence?”

“It’s possible, just highly unlikely.”

Addie heard the sounds of doors opening. She opened her
eyes as best she could. Barely able to open her eyes, she saw the man walk
towards her, noticing him holding something. Reflexively, she flinched.

“Steady now.” The man said.

She tried to move, wiggling just a little. She felt the jab and
then the sting as something went into her arm. Addie tried to jerk away but
couldn’t. Everything was so hazy. She was so tired.

The man’s voice spoke so close she felt his breath on her ear. “I
told you, if you keep moving like that I’m going to have to keep doing this.
You’re a hardheaded little bitch, aren’t you?”

Addie forced an eye open. It took all the strength she had, but
she managed to shake her head. He’s drugging you. Pull it together. You know
this man. You know this voice. Think Addison. Think.

The man laughed. “Rest well, little whore. Rest well. You’re
going to needed it.”

Addie heard him close the door to her cage and then the rattling
of keys. She heard his feet climb the stairs when all of a sudden the room went
pitch black. In matter of seconds, she was out cold again.

William’s team was able to track down Addie’s iPhone
within a matter of hours. From there, they were able to locate her car, which
had been found abandoned, her purse still inside. At that point, it became
clear that they needed to get the police involved. William and Sondra met with
the police and then the FBI, each of them giving limited details regarding
their respective relationships with Addison Greyer. William explained that he
was just a friend trying to help Sondra. And Sondra was just Addison Greyer’s
boss. She felt no need to indulge any further. After all this had to do with
Addie’s work at the agency, not at
Seven.
But William and Sondra were
smart. They both knew it was only a matter of time before the real truth would
come out. Fortunately for them and for Addison, the longer that was avoided,
the better. Because once the truth was out, it would mark a noticeable shift in
the investigation. The truth would turn the investigation inward, when the
authorities would stop looking for the person who really held Addison Greyer
captive, and instead focus solely on those who were lying. Unfortunately for
Addie, this shift would likely prove fatal.

The police contacted Patrick, who chartered a flight home.
William reached out to all of the major media outlets and pulled strings,
getting Addison’s picture out and scoring Sondra interviews on the next day’s
morning shows. All of a sudden, there was a flurry of activity, the situation
becoming overwhelmingly intense. It was clearly evident that, due to the
circumstances surrounding Addie’s disappearance, all parties understood that
time was of the essence.